The Longest Hours
by sulpicia29
Summary: A smile suddenly overtook Lilly's expression and she tightened her grip on Miley's hand. "I've never met anyone like you." A short Liley story.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: I've written this during the snow falling on me this past week and a half. It's got a second chapter but depending on whether you lot want it posted it'll be up there. This was inspired by JLS' 'Children in Need' 2010 single 'Love You More'... I was surprised I used another of their songs too, yet it was done. Also has strands from Katy Perry (sorry, I can't help but include her!) and Imagine Me and You. None of which I own._

_x_

**The Longest Hours**** – Part 1**

_Thought I couldn't want you, more than I did before__,  
But everyday I love you a little bit more.  
Find myself asking, "What are you waiting for?"  
Because everyday I love you a little bit more…_

The sheet of paper wavered slightly as other people in the hallway brushed past the blonde girl, standing and reading her list fretfully in the middle of the corridor whilst she got her bearings. She glanced up anxiously, casting her eyes about for a familiar face; this had quickly become a habit since moving away from home to a strange city. Yet she was only on day two.

Lilly looked back down to the piece of paper that held a squiggly drawing; a rough map to guide her to the student centre where she was meant to register for classes. The main college building, however, was like a labyrinth and she had long lost her best friend who was taking completely different subjects.

Her brows creased together in confusion whilst she read the written instructions about completing orientation, hoping that they would help her make sense of the map. Lilly put her finger to the page, tracking each word carefully in case she had missed something before. "Where the hell am I meant to be?" Lilly whispered quietly to herself. She felt like giving up. Just standing in a small space, surrounded by people who knew where they were going was making her feel insignificant. How (her mind raced, and not for the first time) was she supposed to deal with actual classes?

Someone else rustled by her and she lost concentration on her poorly composed map. Lilly groaned in frustration as the thing slipped through her fingers and fluttered feebly to the floor.

"Lord, I'm sorry." A soft voice, which belonged to the very person who had jolted her, murmured from behind her, "Let me get that for you."

"No, I've got it." Lilly sighed, lowering herself to the floor, yet the paper was scooped up quickly by another hand.

"Here y'are."

Lilly glanced up disinterestedly to take back her poor excuse for a map. "Thanks." Out of politeness, Lilly knew she should at least make eye contact with the pusher who was nice enough to make amends for what she had done.

Then Lilly kind of wished with some small part of her that she never had. Electric blue eyes sparked with a bright smile, "You're welcome."

Lilly lost her own voice when the other girl spoke. Her eyes blinked a few times, but they did nothing to start up the motor in her throat, to transfer the chatter of thoughts in her head into a conversation.

The other girl smiled expectantly, and Lilly had to glance around quickly to see if anyone else was witness to this. Everyone else in the hall continued to pass by them, unobservant of the girl before her. A couple of people allowed their gaze to linger on Lilly for a few moments, but that was probably because she was staring at them in the first place.

"Are you okay?" The pair of soft, pink lips moved and the question jolted Lilly back into her senses.

"Y-yes…" She spluttered and then smiled sheepishly, feeling her cheeks turn pink. The other girl tilted her head to one side, still smiling as she regarded Lilly, and Lilly's cheeks blushed until they were red splotches on her pale complexion. "I'm lost."

"So am I."

Lilly felt her eyebrows quirk upwards in surprise, this girl looked anything but lost. She looked like she belonged, that she could be anywhere and just fit in easily, but stand out in the crowd at the same time. _Why is she talking to me?_ Lilly thought again, and then her ears burned with the embarrassed heat flushing through her body. Her eyes flickered wildly about her, seeking out hidden cameras that proved she was being 'Punked'. It was surreal that the girl before her could be talking to her.

"What classes are you down for?"

The girl moved until she was standing at Lilly's side, her head bent over the sheet as well. Lilly felt her jaw clench but she managed to hold the paper steady whilst the other girl scanned down the list on the opposite side of the sheet to the map.

"Yeah, I'm down for that art interpretation period as well." The girl reached up with her spare hand and pushed a little of her wavy hair back and out of her eyes. She turned and smiled at Lilly, her eyes aglow with warmth, lulling Lilly in. "Be sure to save me a desk, okay?"

Lilly swallowed and smiled back, unsurely.

Then the girl looked up and her piercing eyes scrutinised the corridor spread out before them, slightly emptier of young students than before. "I think if you keep going down there and take the first left you only need to cross the outside area and take a door, which should be signposted, and then it'll be the second on your right."

Lilly nodded, "Thank you."

The other girl leaned back easily on her heels, "Not a problem." Then she winked, "I'll see you around, Lilly Truscott."

Lilly watched her turn and stride at her leisure down the hall. Others moved out of her way and boys performed double-takes as she walked by. The girl was oblivious to all of this however, and Lilly had to smile at her quiet confidence.

Grinning, she glanced back to her paper, which had her name stamped across the top in bold text. Lilly admired the attractive girl's audacity to use her name when she had only managed to stutter out ten words to her.

_First day that I saw you – thought you were beautiful, but I couldn't talk to you, I watched you walk away…_

x-x-x

Lilly turned the page of the book that she had propped on her knee and resting against the low table in the coffee shop. She let out a sigh that pushed back a little of her blonde hair from her face and tried to resume her concentration on the text. Studying was difficult however when she wasn't sure what her first classes would entail. Lilly had taken the first book listed on one of her many essential bibliographies, given out by the professors, and decided to read it over a good coffee.

The words on the page became dull after a few seconds and when she blinked, in that half-second when her eyes were closed, she lost her attention completely.

Lilly shook her head, feeling the brush of her hair against her cheeks and lifted her book to place it on the table so that she could take a drink from her frothy mug of coffee. The thick liquid soothed her, and she leaned back in her squashy chair to watch the people beyond the window pass by.

Her eyes glanced over figure after figure; old women gossiping as they trundled past with their middle-aged daughters, and children skipped idly by with stressed mothers following behind, pushing their empty buggies. None of these people were entirely remarkable and Lilly allowed her eyes to close, to squeeze shut so that she could try to figure out what she should have said exactly the day before.

Her eyes opened when she landed on the words which may have taken her an inch closer to the mysterious and very beautiful girl in the corridor.

"_Are you okay?"_

_Lilly laughed lightly, "Yes, I'm fine. I'm just lost."_

_The other girl laughed with her, "Me too. Hey, what classes do you have?"_

_Lilly offered__ her list to the girl, "I'll show you mine if you show me yours." _

_The other girl paused whilst she scrutinised__ Lilly's expression with a smile of her own, "Here." She handed Lilly the list._

"_Oh cool, we're in the same classes." Lilly acknowledged and the brunette handed her back her piece of paper._

"_Sav__e me a seat, okay?"_

"_Sure. I'm Lilly by the way." Lilly extended her hand and the other girl took it willingly._

"_My name is…"_

Lilly pressed her lips against the rim of her coffee-cup. Just what was the girl's name? Lilly shook her head, did it even matter?

And yet, somehow, it did. The girl had asked Lilly to save her a seat though she had hardly spoken. Was she just being overly friendly, or did she actually want to know Lilly?

Lilly's features lit up at once, until she shoved the notions away. She was just being hospitable, and the accent was misleading. _Why should a girl who makes the stars seem dull in comparison want to sit with me?_

_And it seems like I spent all of that second day__ trying to figure out what it was that I should have said…_

x-x-x

The hallway was busy with students standing in small groups, talking amongst themselves whilst others darted between the gatherings on the way to classes. Lilly was counting the doors, knowing that hers couldn't be too far away. The building was old however, with new corridors built in at random sporting different numbering systems.

"Lils!"

Lilly frowned and turned towards her friend's voice. There he was, leaning against a bulletin board and waving her over.

"Oliver, what are you doing in here? This is the humanities building. Shouldn't you be doing something...else?"

Oliver shrugged easily, "I needed to get out of the rain and use a computer. This building provides both a roof and there's a computer room on the next floor."

Lilly peered at Oliver closely, "Then why are you on _this _level?"

Oliver grinned sheepishly, before lowering his voice, "All the cutest girls happen to be in your type of classes Lilly."

"Don't be sexist." Lilly scoffed and Oliver rolled his eyes.

"I'm not! It's just fact. Do you know that seventy-five percent of the people in _your_ lecture theatres are women? I checked out the facts on line myself." He puffed his chest out proudly and Lilly prodded it playfully.

"Whatever you say, Oken. Seen anyone you like?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Oliver grinned. "I have met this really nice girl. I don't think she's into me at all though, which is kind of lame because she's like a model."

Lilly's eyes widened, "A model?"

"Yeah." Oliver sighed. "She's… Well, she's here!"

He jerked out of his casual position at once when his eyes landed on a figure standing closely behind Lilly.

"Hey." The girl breathed and Lilly thought she could feel the other girl's exhalation of air on the back of her neck.

Tingles trickled down her spine as she turned and was met with a warm smile. A pair of cobalt eyes flashed over Lilly's, clearly excited to see her again. Lilly smiled shyly, revealing that she did in fact recognise the girl from before.

Oliver rested his hand on Lilly's shoulder, and Lilly was glad for the contact. She didn't feel quite so out on her ledge as before with him around, though she could feel her pulse twitch in her neck at the sight of the other girl stood before them.

"Lilly, this is who I was just talking to you about. I think she's in most of your classes?" He nudged Lilly forward a little and said to the other girl, "This is my best friend, Lilly Truscott."

The girl with the long brunette tresses offered her hand at once, "Hi Lilly, I'm Miley."

"M-Miley?" Lilly stuttered out the name ungracefully on her tongue, but was quick to slide her hand into Miley's, whose fingers curled around hers instantly, cocooning them in warmth.

"Yeah." Miley grinned, "It's a strange name but I have my dad to blame for that one."

"I think it's a lovely name." Lilly sighed, and she felt Miley squeeze her hand in response to the compliment.

"Thank you." Then Miley's expression turned thoughtful, "You know, those are the most words I've heard you string together."

Lilly's cheeks turned pink from the teasing but she was quick to find her tongue again this time, "Yeah, I'm sorry about the other day - I was totally lost. I still am!" Lilly laughed brightly, feeling better in herself at once.

"Perhaps I can help you to your seat, then?" Miley offered and, now releasing Lilly's hand, indicated towards the open door which other students were filing through.

"Sure." Lilly smiled, "Lead the way."

Oliver cleared his throat from somewhere nearby, "I'll see you later then, Lils?"

"Yeah, great!" Lilly called back, without needing to turn and see her friend, only following Miley into the theatre and aglow with pride for being able to complete her sentences.

_Third day saw y__ou again; introduced by a friend. I said all the words I wanted to…_

x-x-x

The rain was everywhere and Lilly knew it would last all day. It splashed off the roofs and fell heavily into the gutters. The skies were completely grey, the only lightness coming from the areas where the rain clouds weren't gathered together so tightly, yet they still had enough power in them to soak you through if you were out for a fair few minutes.

Lilly stood in the doorway to her student accommodation, umbrella in hand and ready to be put up to provide adequate shelter from the rain. It wasn't the best device to use to protect her from water altogether, but at least her hair would stay dry and most of her clothes.

Sucking in a deep breath, Lilly took a step away from the door, clicking it shut behind her and putting her shield up in one deft movement. It was days like these when she missed her beloved California weather. It was only day four in student-land but it had now officially rained for fifty-percent of the time Lilly had been there.

"Yuck, yuck, yuck…" Lilly muttered to herself as her feet splashed through the thin layer of water that was a permanent and unceasing puddle on top of the pavement. She had been intelligent enough that morning to swap her sneakers for boots and was happy to at least be able to sport dry feet in her afternoon classes.

Fast footsteps were coming up from behind her and Lilly chuckled to herself in acknowledgement of the forgotten umbrella of the person approaching her. The girl rushed past and Lilly, recognising at once who she was, cried out to stop her, "Hey!" She kept running though, the rain driving her onwards with her light hooded-sweater pulled tight about her head. "Miley!" Lilly called out through the rain and the figure slowed, reluctantly.

Lilly jogged up to meet Miley and, on sighting her, the girl's morose expression turned into a winning smile, "Lilly! Hey, how are ya?" Miley asked as Lilly arrived next to her and held her umbrella up for both of them to share.

Miley pushed her hood back at once, releasing her wild hair from its tight confines. Some raindrops still glistened in the soft curls and Lilly smiled to see the water clinging to Miley's long eyelashes.

"What are you smiling at?" Miley asked, grinning herself in curiosity.

Lilly shook her head, "Just you." Miley tilted her head to one side and Lilly continued, "I can't believe you went out without adequate protection."

Lilly gestured towards the skies and Miley glanced up, her eyes widening in surprise as if she had only just realised it was raining. "Oh." Then she turned back to Lilly, "You're always prepared, then? Always carry one on you?"

"Of course." Lilly blushed to see Miley's bright eyes flash in amusement from the hidden subtext of her words. "Though, I still manage to get wet. Every time."

Miley licked her lips, taking away a little of the water that had fallen on them with her pink tongue, "It wouldn't be fun if you didn't." She replied, her voice low. "Where are you headed anyway?" Miley asked suddenly in a lighter tone.

"To the library. I wanted to get a couple of books out and read them over lunch before class this afternoon."

Miley grinned, "Me too. Wanna be my rain ranger and help me through?"

"I dunno…" Lilly answered slowly, "Can you afford the toll price?"

"I'll buy you a coffee." Miley offered at once, easily, like they did it all the time.

"Deal." Lilly smiled and moved to stand at Miley's side, easing her umbrella over them both properly.

They took a few steps forward, Miley humming happily to herself as they dodged puddles together. They became separated briefly, scooting around a large puddle from opposite sides and Miley cried out in mock frustration, while Lilly laughed, and she missed her cover.

"Well, this is just no good." Miley huffed. She met Lilly's eyes quickly and smiled, before linking her arm through Lilly's. "Much better." Miley sighed and pulled herself tightly up against Lilly's side.

Lilly instantly felt the warmth of it and the softness of Miley's slightly damp body being so near. It was one of the most comforting things ever in the awkwardness of a rainy day, where clothes became clammy and stuck, and noses would sniffle unattractively.

"Does it rain like this where you come from, Lilly?" Miley asked then, whilst they continued their slowed pace.

Lilly laughed softly, "It doesn't quite rain like this in Malibu."

Miley laughed with her, "California girl, hey?"

"Through and through." Lilly admitted with a smirk.

"Like in that song?" Miley frowned slightly, remembering the lyrics, "Fine, fresh, fierce… You got it on lock?"

"Of course." Lilly shrugged casually, "Guys break their necks trying to creep a little sneak-peek. Miley, you can travel the world but nothing comes close to the Golden Coast."

"That I've heard."

"Where are you from?" Lilly asked after a short pause, "I mean, you've got this gorgeous accent and I can't quite figure it out…"

"Sounding like a hillbilly is gorgeous?" Miley stopped walking and, since they were still linked, Lilly came to a halt beside her.

"Well…" Lilly blushed, "You don't sound like a hillbilly really…"

"Hmm." Miley glared at Lilly through suspicious eyes, and then they lightened, "You seriously like the way I talk?"

"You never seem able to shut up, so it's either like it or try to avoid it, which you seem incapable of letting me do." Lilly teased back.

"Perhaps I preferred you when you were a mute?"

Lilly's lips curled into a smile, "Talking to me was the biggest mistake of your life."

"You learn the most from your biggest mistakes." Miley replied and smiled placidly at Lilly, with all the brightness of the sun that was hidden behind the dark clouds.

"So, where are you from?" Lilly asked again.

"Tennessee." Miley sighed, "A small town called Crowley Corners. Both of my parents' families have lived there for generations. They have farms and horses there."

"Sounds wonderful." Lilly replied sincerely, "You must have had the best childhood."

Miley returning smile was subtly pained, "I did okay." Lilly didn't press any further, sensing something that needed to be left unspoken.

"This has to be the best place on campus." Miley stopped and was pointing towards the tall brick building before them. Lilly followed the line of her arm and smiled in recognition of the college library.

"I fell a little bit in love with it from the moment I walked through the doors, is that totally geeky?" Lilly asked.

Miley chuckled, "Lilly, if you ever get to the 'totally geeky' mark, then you'll know how I feel every day of my life. Let's go inside and learn." Miley winked at Lilly, before taking the lead and a step out from beneath Lilly's protective umbrella to walk up the stairs to the main doors.

Lilly carefully lowered her umbrella, sliding it closed and sealing the tie in place, whilst her eyes lingered upon the back of the least geeky girl she had ever known. Miley's feet were clad in leather cowboy-boots and her behind was hugged by a pair of tight, faded jeans, which adored her long legs. She wore a chequered shirt beneath her grey sweater to complete the look, but until she spoke there was no way a person could tell she was from somewhere in the South.

Miley was holding open the glass door to the library, with large droplets of water from the beam across the door dripping onto her smile-stretched cheeks, "Lilly, get your butt in here!" Miley chided with a warm chuckle and Lilly grinned apologetically.

The pair found a table in the group study area and happily sat, after wringing out their damp clothing and setting their books onto the table. Miley sighed happily as she slid into the seat opposite Lilly, tilting it back on two legs whilst she watched Lilly open a text and chew on the end of her pen.

"What are you reading today?" Miley asked and Lilly glanced up to meet Miley's eyes. The brunette was smiling peacefully as she rocked in her seat, all of her books as yet unopened.

"Oh, just the first book from the top of the list." Lilly replied, "I started trying to read it a couple of days ago, but I can't get beyond the first paragraph."

"It's that dull, huh?" Miley assumed with a quirked eyebrow.

"Yeah. And I'm easily distracted." Lilly admitted. She was beginning to feel very warm, yet the increase in temperature had nothing to do with the building's heating system. Just being in the presence of the attractive young woman opposite her was burning her from the core outwards.

"Me too." Miley grinned, and she let her chair plop down so that it was level with the floor again. "You wanna go and grab a coffee?"

Lilly laughed, "We've just got here!"

"Yeah." Miley wrinkled her nose, "There'll be time for studying later in the term."

"Not if I come to the library with you." Lilly chided her and Miley pouted, apparently put out.

"Aww, and I was so hoping you would. I thought you could be a good influence on me."

"Well, I'm clearly failing so far."

Miley smiled sheepishly, "Is it wrong that I want to get to know my study-buddy a little bit first?"

Lilly felt her cheeks twitch into a smile, it was contagious, "In case I turn out to be a raging serial-killer?"

Miley's eyes widened and she nodded solemnly, "A girl can't be too careful."

"Alright. But you're buying." Lilly reminded her and Miley happily hopped to her feet, their books pushed aside and forgotten.

Lilly let Miley lead her through the building, up the stairs to the small coffee shop which overlooked most of the campus. Miley bought them two steaming coffees and together they found a table next to a large window which gave them a view of a courtyard that was currently void of students, due to the rain.

"Yuck." Miley murmured as she glanced over the increasing amounts of puddles on the ground below them, and together they sat and watched the water bubbling down the drains.

"Like I said," Lilly began, "days like these really make me miss Malibu."

Miley smiled sympathetically, "It rains like this sometimes in Tennessee. You just have to put on your waterproofs and get on with it though."

"Do you help out a lot on the farm?" Lilly asked as she took a sip of her drink.

"Yeah." Miley nodded, "I really like it. I have my own chickens and I ride everyday when I'm out there."

"You like to keep busy?"

Miley smiled, "When you live in the middle of nowhere and you've finished school and all of your friends live miles away, you have to keep busy or else you'd go insane."

"And there's me thinking you already had." Lilly teased. "What about your family, are they all farmers?"

Miley paused and wrapped her hands around her coffee cup, "Yeah they are for the most of it, although they all have other interests as well. My dad likes his music, he's really into country and does local performances. My brother Jackson went to college a couple of years back, but he's always home in the holidays, back to annoy me – with a vengeance." Miley smiled and then the happiness slid off her face. She cleared her throat uncomfortably and her bright blue eyes became level with Lilly's again, "And, my mother, well, she died a few years back."

"Oh." Lilly replied softly, and inside her chest her blood ran cold. "I'm so sorry." It seemed that her heart was beating slower, and that each thud was becoming laced with ice.

Miley's eyes flickered to her hands, now drumming quietly on the table-top, "It's okay. I was twelve and it's been a while."

Lilly reached across and placed the tips of her fingers over Miley's knuckles, "But it still hurts."

Miley nodded her head and a tight smile formed across her lips, "Every day."

Lilly's fingers uncurled slowly until her whole palm was covering the back of Miley's hand. She didn't know what to say, and the feeling within her was just a raw pain. She barely knew Miley and yet she was being offered a window into the other girl's damaged soul.

"What about you, Lilly?" Miley asked and her eyes returned to meet the blonde's, her expression more free of pain than before. "Do you have a big family?"

Lilly tilted her head to one side, taking a quick glance at the rain, which had not ceased to fall. "My family's not really that big, and it's a bit spread out. My parents divorced when I was about eight and my older brother was ten. Dad moved away and I only see him during the holidays, and my mum seems happy enough. She's not dating anyone though."

"How did it feel, when your parents divorced?" Miley asked quietly.

Lilly frowned over the question, not because it made her uncomfortable, but because no one had asked her that in years. The last person had been the councillor who had talked to her after it had happened. Divorce was so common these days that people were blasé, yet that hadn't stopped her from suffering.

"It was horrible." Lilly admitted, "It felt like my world was falling apart. The build up before the divorce was a really bad time in my life. My parents were constantly arguing and at each other's throats. I overheard a lot of nasty things when I was only little – sitting and hugging the banister at the top of the stairs whilst they screamed at each other in the kitchen." Lilly shuddered, "Not nice."

"Was it better or worse after the divorce?"

"Worse, at first." Lilly confessed, "I missed my dad and of course I missed all the good times that we used to have when my parents were having a break from fighting. Then, after a while, I came to realise that my mum was so much happier. I still miss dad though, I can't help it. But, life goes on." Lilly offered Miley a small smile.

"I'm sorry to press you with those questions." Miley said after a pause, "I don't really know anyone whose parents have been divorced. I just know that my whole family life was broken after my mum passed away – it must have been kinda similar to a divorce."

Lilly shook her head and squeezed Miley's hand, "No. What you've been through, and had to cope with, it's infinitely worse. And I'm so sorry, Miley."

Miley turned her palm over and then her fingers curled around Lilly's, her thumb soothing over the back of Lilly's hand in a comforting gesture that had the butterflies bursting through Lilly's chest.

"You know, I haven't talked about my mum to anyone other than my family in years."

Lilly smiled, "And no one really cares about divorce these days."

Miley's eyes were shining as they collided with Lilly's, "I care."

Lilly blushed from the sincerity of Miley's words. She hadn't met anyone who was so engaged in how she was feeling before. Miley was burrowing her way into the loose threads of Lilly's life and the blonde could only welcome her interference. She had a feeling that anything she told the brunette would be accepted warmly and with a mind that was ready to bear her emotions and problems.

A smile suddenly overtook Lilly's expression and she tightened her grip on Miley's hand. "I've never met anyone like you." Lilly admitted, her eyes twinkling with an affection that was becoming deeply rooted.

Miley smiled, "Never met a hillbilly before?"

Lilly laughed, and the situation became instantly lighter. She released her grip on Miley's hand and relaxed back into her chair, "You got it."

Miley grinned and returned her hand to trace patterns against the side of her coffee cup, "Hey, Lilly?"

"Yes Miley?"

"How would you like to come and watch the first football game of the year with me on Saturday night?"

Lilly tilted her head to one side as she contemplated the invitation, "Sport on a Saturday night, with a hillbilly?" She pretended to contemplate the proposal seriously, "I don't know. Will you give in to your primitive instincts?"

"Undoubtedly." Miley replied with an amused expression.

"Screaming? Running naked across the pitch at half time?"

Miley laughed, "What football games have you been to? But, yes, there will be a lot of screaming. I don't like my lungs to be idle."

"Awesome. I look forward to it."

It was Lilly's first arranged social event of her time at college and she was more excited than she could let on to Miley. At first she thought it was the strong coffee buzzing through her, kicking up the adrenaline in her bloodstream and causing her heart to thrum faster in her chest and a rushing hum was set singing in her ears. Then Lilly realised it had nothing to do with the caffeinated drink. She actually couldn't take her eyes off the young woman in front of her, easily drinking her coffee whilst she watched the rain falling beyond the windows, the droplets streaming down the pane.

Lilly's breath caught in her throat and she allowed her eyes to roam freely over Miley's still-damp hair; the curls had been made heavier and looser in the rain. The other girl's cheeks were rosy whilst the rest of her face remained paler. Her eyes though – a deep, swirling blue, and currently involved in distant thoughts. They stared out at the rain, but really Miley was thinking inwards. She was so beautiful that Lilly wanted to tell her, but she couldn't.

An emotion inside of her was unfurling like a flower when it gets its first glimpse of the sun as it rises above the horizon in the morning; it was powerful and enough to shock her into silence. Lilly longed to get a grip on it, some hold to prevent it from spreading, yet it was an unstoppable feeling and Lilly was already four days too late.

_On day four and five and six__ I don't know what you did, but all I could think about was you…_

x-x-x

The weather had turned surprising cooler by the end of the week and a light drizzle passed down all day on Saturday. In the evening the rain had stopped, yet the chill in the air remained so Lilly pulled on her most comfortable sweater and prepared to brace the cold.

She found Miley waiting for her at the entrance to the football pitch, a bright grin on her face and a spare cup of takeaway coffee in hand which she passed over to Lilly, "Here, I thought you'd need this tonight."

"It is a bit cold." Lilly shivered and Miley laughed.

"It's gonna get a lot colder California girl." Lilly smiled helplessly as she followed Miley to the stands, which they climbed and found a space further up that had a good view of the centre of the pitch.

Lilly happily hugged her coffee into her chest and felt the warmth sink through the thick layer of her top. She took a sip and relished the thrill of the hot liquid sliding down her throat and warming her instantly, "Good coffee." She commented.

Miley, alert and already twitching beside her, could only nod. The players were entering the sports ground and the fans of both colleges were beginning their cheers. "Look at them all…" Miley muttered under her breath, low enough so only Lilly could hear, "…they're not paying a dime towards their education because they're all here on scholarships – apparently among the best players in the country. Well, let's hope they put on a good show tonight."

Lilly grinned, "Not a fan of college sports?"

Miley shook her head, "I am, just not the jerks that come with them." She grinned defiantly at Lilly, "Oh well, in football at least we'll see a load of guys getting messed up."

Lilly chuckled with her friend, she could already see the glint in Miley's eye and she knew a hardcore sport fanatic when she was with one. "I've heard the cheerleaders are also top on the national scores." Lilly commented and Miley smiled.

"Yeah. They do alright."

Lilly rolled her eyes and focused her attention on the rest of her beverage whilst Miley scanned the goings on below with a disdainful expression. Lilly was beginning to get the feeling that Miley just came along to criticise, but she didn't find her new friend's attitude off-putting; it only amused her.

"Look at the ref! He could do with losing some pounds." Miley laughed and turned to see Lilly's bemused expression, "What?"

"Nothing really, just you – getting all worked up."

"I'm not." Miley insisted, "This is my first college football game and I wanna see how things play out. I'm not even really a fan; I don't see the point of guys smashing each other up. Give me ballet any day, now that's what I call a sport."

"Ballet?" Lilly tilted her head to one side as she contemplated this, "That is hardcore. Are you a dancer Miley?"

Miley shrugged, "I used to go along to a studio where each semester we would take on a new dance style. It was really good actually – ballet was definitely the hardest though, but it really strengthened my legs."

Lilly swallowed, thinking of Miley's sublime, long legs which she had already seen in tight jeans. How she longed suddenly even more for the true summer weather, when Miley would have to break into short skirts and dresses and those divine limbs would come into their own.

"I'm more of a surfer/skater girl myself." Lilly replied after a pause.

"Hmm… I can see that. Did you bring a board with you?"

Lilly nodded, "Yeah, I just need to scout out a good park and then I'll be happy again. Skating's a great break from studying."

Miley inclined her head in agreement with the blonde and was about to reply when the referee strode out into the centre of the pitch, closely followed by two lines of bulky football players.

"Here we go." Miley murmured under her breath.

The game was fast and ferocious with cheerleaders singing out their chants from the sidelines in each pause from play. Their voices were a sweet relief from the grunts of the guys running up and down the grounds and being trampled into the earth by each other. Lilly found herself captivated by it all though, especially the atmosphere of the crowd. She felt as if she was caught up in an electric current for the energy of the people screaming around her zinged into her system and had her shouting with them.

The voice next to her was the loudest, however, as Miley bellowed insults across the pitch, "What are you doing Fourteen?" Lilly laughed and Miley turned to see the amusement playing through her new friend, "What? If I don't tell him, no one else will!" Miley objected and Lilly only shrugged, giggling at the innocent expression on Miley's face as the other girl smiled at her hostility to the player.

"How did you get so loud? I swear you're out screaming all the men behind us." Lilly murmured and pointed backwards with her thumb.

Miley chuckled, "It's all in the lungs." She tapped her chest importantly, "Good enunciation is important and it'll get you far in life."

Lilly pouted thoughtfully as she regarded the advice she had been given, "No one can hear me, can they?"

Miley laughed, "If I can't hear you then, no, the players definitely won't know what you're trying to say."

"Hey!" Lilly complained, "That's only because I'm lost as soon as you open your mouth. You're so friggin' loud!"

This didn't stop Miley's laughter however and she continued for a few seconds longer, "Alright, do you want me to teach you how to raise the volume?"

Lilly rolled her eyes, "If you must."

"Please, I'm only trying to improve your life." Miley insisted and Lilly grinned, "Well, I am. Did you know you're kind of shrill? If you want them to hear your abuse better, you've gotta project it."

Lilly rolled her eyes, "Fine, then teach me."

"Okay…" Miley glanced back at the pitch, temporarily lost in thought, and then her eyes locked onto Lilly's once more, "First off you've got to tighten your stomach muscles."

"I don't think I've got any these days." Lilly mumbled and Miley grinned.

"Yeah you do, they're right here." She reached across and rested her hand on Lilly's stomach, and Lilly felt everything constrict. "Tighten them." Miley said.

"Tightened." Lilly grimaced.

"Tense them." Miley replied in a low voice.

"They're pretty tense." Lilly laughed weakly.

"Good." Miley's expression turned mock serious, "Next you need to broaden your diaphragm."

Both of Lilly's eyebrows shot up at once, "My what?"

Miley smiled, "It's here." Her hand slid upwards until it was resting on Lilly's lower ribs and all of Lilly's breath became stuck, in limbo, on its journey to her lungs. Her heart was pounding like a captured bird and she was frightened that Miley would notice it against her palm.

"Oh." Lilly exhaled.

"Okay, push it out against my hand." Lilly tried, but everything was seized up and she could hardly think. The game was passing before her like a blur and all she was aware of was Miley and the proximity of her hand to the underside of her breasts. "You feel my hand?"

Lilly inhaled shakily, her sweatshirt was thick and she found an excuse, "Maybe if you put them both there?"

Miley paused for a moment, but the smile continued to curl around her lips, and she slipped behind Lilly, resting both hands against her chest. "Okay and now for the big one." Miley murmured into Lilly's ear. "Imagine the roof of your mouth is a cathedral."

Lilly laughed, "No, you've lost me." She turned to meet Miley's eyes, which were glowing warmly and she continued, "You had me with the muscles and the diaphragm – I'm there, but…"

"It's a space thing." Miley interrupted, "Alright, your mouth is that big that you have to fill it with sound, deep from inside, filling the space and throwing it out."

"I think I can do that." Lilly answered, and she sounded surprised herself.

Miley nodded and, without moving from behind her she whispered, "Go for it."

Lilly nodded, inhaled, and then let rip, "YOU'RE A JACKASS NUMBER EIGHT!"

She felt Miley almost leap backwards, her hands twitched against Lilly's midsection and the people around her seemed to reel away from her in shock. The player in question, carrying the ball, turned his head for a moment to see just who was addressing him, before he was crushed by an opposing player.

Cheers spilled out from all around them as the supporters of their college watched the enemy bite the dust, or suck the soil as the ground was so wet. Miley was laughing loudly behind Lilly now that she had recovered and then her body became closer when she wrapped her arms tightly around Lilly.

"That's my girl." Miley said and leaned in to kiss Lilly's cheek.

Lilly blushed instantly, but settled back into the embrace. There was nothing sweeter than those few long moments where Miley held onto her from behind, hugging her with such strong affection for two young women who had only known each other for one week.

_Day seven that's when I knew – I'll spend the rest of my life with you…_

x-x-x


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Thank you to all of you who reviewed part one :) Now here's the second and final part of this short story._

_x_

**The Longest Hours**_  
_

_Days they turn into weeks,  
That's how good this has been.  
Still, I can't believe the way  
This first year has flown…_

The feeling within Lilly was unpleasant as she cleared the books from her shelves and piled them steadily, one by one, into the plastic crate she had brought with her from home just over nine months ago. She wrinkled her nose when she caught sight of the thin layer of dust that had gathered behind and between the spaces of her books, gradually smeared across the shelves when she had taken each one down for studying.

Her room was becoming bleaker by the minute; the walls blotched with spots of sticky-tack that had held up posters and pictures of friends and family. Her bed consisted only of the mattress which the university accommodation had supplied her since her own bedding was packed neatly away into a large storage bag. In fact, all of her worldly belongings had been reduced down into containers and sacks which sat in the corner of the room, alongside a large suitcase, and ready for when her mother would arrive to help her move them into storage, for next year.

Lilly sighed and straightened up to push her hair back from her face. She had done it – she was ready to move out and officially end her first year at college. There would be a long summer in between her term starting up again when she would become a second year. Most students looked forward to this, and she would certainly approve of the Californian weather. However, even the promise of endless sunshine was not enough to draw her away from the knowledge that the summer, consisting of almost three months of freedom, would be formed of the longest hours.

She hummed quietly to herself as she checked over her old bedroom once more, in case she had happened to miss anything, when she heard a knock on the door. Lilly frowned slightly, for her mother had arranged to meet her outside since she did not have access to the building. The knock was repeated though and Lilly went to greet the visitor.

"Hey."

A brunette girl, who was definitely not Lilly's mother, was standing in the entrance to her room and Lilly smiled, "Miley? What are you doing here?"

Miley shrugged, "I couldn't leave without saying goodbye, could I?"

Lilly's smile only grew, "We said goodbye last night though."

The other girl turned shy, "I know. It's just I'm gonna miss you so much that I had to come and see you again this morning."

Lilly rolled her eyes jovially and stepped aside, allowing Miley to wander into the room. "Wow." Miley exhaled, "It looks empty - same as my room."

"Yeah." Lilly said from her position near the door, "I'm going to miss this place."

Miley nodded, "I know what you mean, but things will be better when we're in our own little house next year."

Lilly beamed, "Less annoying boys clogging up the showers with their mysterious hairs."

Miley shuddered, "Less random shower…activities." She made a face, "There were people going at it in my block this mornin'. They must have wanted to get in a goodbye session for old time's sake." She laughed, "Hopefully there'll be none of that next year… Oliver is clean, isn't he?"

Lilly nodded, "He's okay."

Miley's smile returned, "I'm so glad we're all living together next year, it's going to be really good, you know?"

"I know. It's a shame we won't see each other over the holidays though." Lilly sighed and the loss resounded in her like an endless echo that reverberated off her ribs and through her chest, filling her with a weakening grief. She didn't know how she had managed to hold herself together this far.

Miley's eyes flickered to the window, "Yeah. I'm sorry too." She turned back to Lilly, "It's okay, we've got email and the phone though."

"If my dad's apartment is linked up to the real world; last time I stayed with him we didn't have such luxuries."

"You're only going there for a couple of weeks though, aren't you?"

Lilly inclined her head, "Yes. And then we're going to Florida to meet my uncle and I've gotta go see my grandparents because they're not getting any younger…"

"And the farm awaits." Miley confirmed, "I've missed it."

"Yeah, well, I'll miss you."

Miley smiled, but the expression was tight, "Miss you more."

"Not possible." Lilly almost whispered.

A sweet sorrow was filling Miley's eyes and she stepped nearer Lilly, before stopping herself. "We'll see each other soon, it won't be that long."

Lilly shook her head, "Nah. It's cool. I've got my doughnut."

"And I've got my chickens." Miley grinned, yet the sadness did not leave her sapphire eyes.

She reached her hand out for Lilly and the blonde placed her own inside of Miley's. Tingles crept across her skin, starting from where Miley was touching her and then they spread out, nestling in her veins and catching the speed of her blood to take the sensation straight to her heart.

"Thank you for the best first year."

"No, thank you for everything." Miley replied and crossed the small space between them to hug Lilly tightly. "See you next year." She whispered gruffly into Lilly's hair, before she broke away to walk to the door. "I'm sorry," Miley sniffed whilst she attempted to hold back the tears, "I suck at goodbyes."

"You don't." Lilly said shakily, "But, I'll see you later."

Miley nodded tensely, and opened her mouth to saying something else, yet thought differently and closed it tightly again. With one final wave, Miley excused herself from Lilly's presence and marched quickly down the hallway.

Lilly listened to Miley's retreating footfall until she could no longer hear the girl. She was left with the silence of her room, and only the occasional snippets of the goings on of other students, who were finalising their packing and making ready to leave the accommodation.

Allowing herself only one groan of pain, Lilly turned to sit on the bare mattress and wait out the coming of her mother. It was one strained hour later, in which Lilly had not moved from her position, that Heather Truscott entered the building and came to find her only daughter in an empty room with a darkness in her eyes that would not be fully re-lit until the summer months had passed.

x-x-x

The skies were grey and Lilly was pacing. It was a hot, June day for all the clouds that covered the cornflower blue, yet the heat was prickly and Lilly was irritable, and only too happy to subject to being driven indoors. Her mother was out and Oliver was busy, so she was totally alone and completely frustrated.

Lilly knew and understood the source of her restlessness; she was waiting for that sacred time of the day, yet she still had three long hours to face before it came about. She was waiting for a message from Miley, either by phone or email, and it always came promptly at six in the evening.

She flumped into her favourite armchair and switched on the TV. The channels could offer her nothing, however, and two hundred flicks of the remote later she turned the screen back to black. Her gaze returned to the windows, her eyes mournfully regarding the clouds that had made the sea swell with a predicted storm which would reach them that night.

"Bored…" Lilly sighed and tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair. She glanced at the clock and counted down the exact minutes when her mother would be home from work. It was easy to continue the charade of not being obsessed with her college friend when her mother was about and willing to distract her.

Lilly stopped her drumming and instead chewed on her thumbnail, her eyebrows knitted together in thought. _What would Miley be doing right now?_ She smiled to think of Miley in a loose chequered shirt and tight jeans, ripped attractively, sitting atop a horse, or pitch-forking hay in the barn. Her friend was lean and able to complete such tasks with ease, and Lilly loved to remember when the subtle muscularity of her best friend would emerge when she would go out running with Lilly.

"Miley…" Lilly said quietly in an exhalation of breath. She ran a hand through her hair and checked the clock once more.

Lilly wrinkled her nose and made her decision. She slowly rose from her seat and completed the short journey up the stairs to her bedroom. Her computer took a while to load and Lilly sat on the edge of her bed whilst it did so, pretending to browse through a magazine, yet the words went unread in her mind for she was too concerned with the long minutes her computer was taking.

The internet was slow too, another painful prolonging of what could be word from Miley and Lilly shook her head, giving in to the fact that she was early and that Miley was probably far too busy to message her every hour of every day…

_One new message – Miley._

Lilly's eyes widened, and then the excitement started because she could not hold back the joy she felt from seeing the single envelope icon highlighted on her screen. Throughout the day she attempted to keep her emotions under a strong grip, until she heard from Miley, and then the flood would come.

She was shaking slightly as she moved the mouse across its mat and clicked on the icon. The message itself was very short, but there was an attachment.

_My brood…_

Lilly clicked on the link to the photograph and cursed the machine for being so slow. The download bar signalled that she would have two minutes before the image would be available on the screen, so Lilly stood up to put on a CD and fetch herself a glass of water from the kitchen.

When she returned there was indeed a picture waiting for her on the monitor and Lilly smiled, resting her glass on her bedside-table before hurrying back to her chair and absorbing the photograph in full.

It was a picture of Miley and Lilly laughed at the sight, the glint of pride in her best friend's eyes and the pure happiness that radiated from her was enough to make Lilly's heart sing. Miley was sitting down on the straw-covered floor of a barn on her family's property, with the brightest smile that lit up her entire expression. She was wearing a chequered shirt, just as Lilly had imagined, and her hair hung loose and curly over her shoulders. Her blue eyes were very much alive, even in this still image and Lilly found herself getting completely lost in them.

Yet as Lilly looked closer at the picture she understood the meaning behind the words in Miley's email, for gathered in a little cluster in front of Miley's legs were a group of baby chicks. They were a fluffy mixture of yellows and browns and were smaller than Lilly's fist if she clenched it. "Miley's brood…" Lilly murmured to herself and her own eyes burned with a delight which mirrored Miley's happiness.

"God, I miss you…" Lilly whispered and raised a hand to rest it gently against her computer screen, just over Miley and she longed, as she did in every hour of the endless days that she were there with her.

x-x-x

Small bonfires crackled on the beach and Lilly sat with Oliver on the sand, along with both of their nuclear families. It was late at night but the plan was to wait for the sun to set before they would start with the fireworks this year. There were many people gathered in groups of close friends and family, who had come down to the beach to celebrate their independence. The pier was the place to be since, from the end of it, Malibu's governing body had arranged for fireworks to be released into the sky.

Lilly inhaled deeply and tilted her head back to look at the stars. They were burning brightly in the heavens above them on this clear, July night and the air was still warm against their skin, yet soothing after the hot summer's day.

"Do you reckon the fireworks will be better than last year's display?" Oliver asked through a mouthful of half-chewed hotdog.

Lilly smiled after she had thrown Oliver a disgusted look, "They seem to get better every year so I don't think we'll be left disappointed." Oliver nodded and proceeded to squash the rest of the snack into his mouth. "And sometimes I wonder why you don't have a girlfriend." Lilly muttered sarcastically as she watched Oliver swallow the whole mouthful with difficulty.

Oliver only glowered at her and was about to retort when suddenly, with a great rushing noise, the first rocket was released into the night's sky.

A great cheer went up among those assembled and the citizens of Malibu who had made it to the beach leapt to their feet and stood with their loved ones, watching the bursts of coloured sparks fill the black skies. Lilly stood smiling and laughing, her mother was nearby and beaming beneath the brilliance of it all whilst Oliver whooped with all the guys when a rocket shocked the crowds as it went off like a cannon.

There was something about this patriotic night where everyone around her had come to celebrate the historic arrival of their independence that had Lilly quietly choked for words. She was glad of the display above them, that she didn't have to speak and she could instead absorb the temporary artwork that had them all spellbound.

A slight vibration originating near her leg, however, drew her attention partially away from the night's brilliance. She slipped her hand into her pocket and drew out her phone, about to cancel the call which was serving as a minute distraction during the firework show.

Lilly stopped herself as soon as she read the name on the screen, and she quickly answered, "Hello?"

"…Do you know that there's still a chance for you? There's a spark in you, you just gotta ignite the light and let it shine…" Lilly smiled as she struggled to hear the singing above the awe of the crowd. She stumbled away from her group and climbed a sand dune behind them so that she could stand at the top and listen.

"…Just own the night, like the fourth of July! Because, baby, you're a firework! Come on show 'em what you're worth. Make 'em go oh, oh, oh, as you shoot across the sky, sky sky!…"

"Miley?" Lilly asked of the phone and heard a burst of laughter at the other end.

"…Like a lightning bolt, your heart will glow, and when it's time you'll know…Baby you're a firework, come on let your colours burst!"

"Why are you singing Katy Perry?"

"Boom, boom, boom… Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon… It's always been inside of you, and now it's time to let it through…."

"…Because baby you're a firework!" Lilly joined in this time and Miley laughed again. "Are you quite done yet?" Lilly asked teasingly, her heart aglow with all the lights that currently filled the skies above her.

Miley's laughter eventually eased off, "I'm done. Happy 4th July, Lilly."

"Happy 4th July to you too, Miley."

x-x-x

Oliver was watching Lilly carefully as she sat on the couch in their lounge and stared blankly at the wall opposite them. She had been stuck in this quiet rut from the moment she got off the phone with Miley a half hour ago and Oliver was getting concerned.

"Lilly? Are you okay?"

Lilly blinked and released a sigh, "Yeah."

Oliver frowned before sitting down beside her and reaching out a tentative hand, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Lilly turned to meet his eyes, "There's nothing to talk about really." She replied expressionlessly, "Miley's going to be late getting here because of a fuel leak covering half of the main runway at her local airport."

Oliver nodded, "Yeah, there is only one plane out a day from Crowley Corners airfield in our direction, so she won't be with us until tomorrow."

"If then." Lilly murmured morosely, "Who knows how long it'll take? It's still pumping out more stuff onto the tarmac and that could take _days_ to clean up."

"Are you being a bit dramatic?" Oliver asked gently.

"Could you be anymore of a boy?" Lilly retorted and got to her feet.

"She won't be any later than a couple of days." Oliver answered, refusing to bite back because he knew Lilly better.

Lilly grew tense, "A couple of days? You say that like it's some small thing, Oliver. Do you know how long I have waited to see her? Ollie, it's been the _longest hours_…" Lilly raised her hands to run her fingers through her hair in frustration.

Oliver rose to stand next to Lilly and surprised the blonde when he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. "Just one more day, Lilly, and we'll sit through this one together."

Lilly released a shaky sigh, "I am just being dramatic, aren't I?"

Oliver shook his head, "Nah."

"Because, everyday I love her a little bit more."

"I know."

x-x-x

Lilly was lying on her bed, waiting, and the clock couldn't have been clicking each second through more slowly if it tried. Every single noise in the house irritated her and every time the door opened and closed again she would twitch, her body sitting upright before she could stop herself.

Each time it had been a false hope she had felt the rage increase until it had crept up from the fierce beating of her heart to a scream that was lodged in her throat, ready to spill over if she was provoked. Such raw emotion was tiring, however, and she had resigned to lying back with a pillow over her face to block out most of the noise.

Oliver left the house to go shopping for their supper that night, which had meant another rise of hope. Things had been quiet for the past hour and a half though, and Lilly's pulse rate had returned to normal. She was waiting and she couldn't have been doing it in a more punishing way, since she could find no distractions and couldn't be bothered to socialise with Oliver.

Just as she was beginning to relax, the door opened again and Lilly cursed Oliver for not having locked it properly. A female voice was conversing with him in the hallway and Lilly rolled her eyes – it was probably Joannie again, returning to borrow yet another staple food from their fridge. At lunchtime she had come for a glass of milk and the previous day it had been a slice of bread.

"Don't know why she doesn't just bother moving in…" Lilly muttered grumpily into her pillow.

"Lilly!" Oliver's voice was calling her up the stairs and she rolled over, pressing the pillow against her ears. When Oliver didn't hear a response, he said something to the other person downstairs and shouted back, "I'm going out. I'll be back later."

Lilly pulled the pillow around her tighter, and she didn't even hear the door close again. She let her eyes slip shut and willed for sleep to come, a nap would be a nice reprieve from the dullness of waiting.

"Lilly?" The sound was muffled but someone was definitely shouting her name again from downstairs.

"Eugh. Go away." Lilly murmured and yawned, this was all very boring.

"Lilly!" The voice was trying to penetrate through the thickness of her barrier, yet Lilly wouldn't let it and she curled up on the bed.

Silence fell then, thickly and Lilly held her breath, waiting to see if the person would try again, or whether they would politely bow out and leave.

"YOU'RE A JACKASS NUMBER EIGHT!"

Lilly's eyes snapped open at once and she jerked into full consciousness. It was like someone had kick-started her heart and it pounded fully in her chest, revelling in feeling more alive than it had in months. She sat up on the mattress, her feet hitting her bedroom floor hard and she leapt up to throw open her bedroom door, "Miley?"

"Lilly!"

Her voice was even sweeter now that it was not diluted through a telephone line and Lilly raced along the small corridor until she was standing at the top of the stairs, looking down at Miley.

Lilly froze and found she could go no further, she just didn't trust her legs. Every single hour she had waited to see her best friend again was worth it. Each minute she had gruellingly thought about and longed for and pined over the brunette standing before her had fluttered away as if they had only lasted seconds.

"Miley…" Lilly sighed and she smiled.

Miley was smiling too from where she stood a couple of steps back from the bottom of the stairs. She had never looked lovelier than in the space of that afternoon; hair wild from the blustering wind outside and cheeks flushed after dragging her suitcase up the street.

Their eyes met and flickered over each other, each young woman drinking in the other she had missed sorely for an entire summer and neither could find the words to say. Lilly felt as if she was drowning in the oceanic depths of Miley's eyes and her gaze strayed to take in every part of her best friend. Her longing was intense, more so than it had been throughout the weeks of getting to know Miley at the beginning of their studies, or through the summer. It was true, every day her affection had grown a little bit more, but now it was palpable and overwhelming.

Then Miley's smile began to dissolve and slide from her face and Lilly felt her heart, a quickly inflating balloon in her chest, retract slightly. Miley's expression turned serious, her eyes wide and blazing with something that Lilly could not interpret.

Miley opened her mouth as if to speak, but then closed it again and broke their eye contact. She looked to the floor and took a deep breath before capturing Lilly up in her cobalt eyes once more.

She spread her hands out before her, imploringly, and did not even blink, so steady was her resolve, "I love you."

Lilly's legs gave out and she grabbed the top of the banister for support, "You… What?"

Miley's lips twitched into a small, helpless smile, "I love you, Lilly." She stepped closer to the stairs, until her hand was resting on the bottom of the banister. Miley fixed her eyes on Lilly, silently pleading with her to speak.

Lilly's hand flew to her throat and her eyes widened. Somehow she managed to straighten out her legs and find the strength to stand. Then, as she looked down upon Miley's beseeching expression and the glimmer of hope in the other girl's eyes, Lilly took her first step down.

"I love you too."

Miley ascended onto the first step, but Lilly was quicker in getting down the stairs to meet her, before she stopped abruptly. They were looking into each other's eyes shyly, both girl trying to determine just what kind of love the other had meant when they had declared it, but Lilly already knew.

She reached out tentatively to rest her hand upon Miley's shoulder and then she leaned down to rest a light kiss against Miley's lips. It only lasted a moment and then Lilly drew away nervously, only to see that Miley's eyes had fluttered shut and the other girl was beginning to smile.

"I may hate goodbyes," Miley said quietly, "but if returning to you means getting that kinda greeting, then perhaps I can give in to them a little more often."

Miley's eyes opened and Lilly suddenly saw within the blaze of clear, sapphire blue the burning adoration Miley held for her.

Lilly shook her head, "Yeah, well, there aren't going to be any more goodbyes for a while, okay?"

"Why's that?" Miley asked coyly.

"Because… Oh, you know why."

"Because you love me?" Miley replied tentatively.

"Yes, and every day it grows just a little bit more."

"Then, what were you waiting for?"

"I don't know." Lilly shrugged, "I just didn't think you would feel the same."

Miley smiled brightly and stepped up to take Lilly into her arms, "Lilly, your eyes make the stars seem like they're not shining… You're so beautiful and amazing and…"

She couldn't finish her sentence before Lilly had taken advantage and leaned down for another kiss. They stood like that, trapped in an embrace on the stairway of their little house, neither girl speaking for their lips were more than ready to confirm their feelings for one another without the need for words. Yet it only took seconds for the kiss to outgrow the space of the hallway, and one minute later Lilly was dragging Miley up the stairs to inaugurate each of their new bedrooms in the long hours they would spend together.

_Then you catch me by surprise, when I look in your eyes and you turn and say that you love me…_


End file.
